


Different This Time

by inu_spike



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Conspiracy Theory, M/M, oooooh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-20
Updated: 2014-05-20
Packaged: 2018-01-25 21:06:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1662431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inu_spike/pseuds/inu_spike
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The blond quirked a smile, “Dumb as you feel they may be, they were following orders. They were told to open the gates at that time, and they did.” Levi could see something lingering under Erwin’s words, something the other man wasn’t saying to him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Different This Time

Different This Time 

-

~*~*~*~*~*

There was steam curling around his boots, the body of the felled titan slowly disintegrating right before him. He could hear the sounds of his squad members calling out to one another; assessing the damage to their equipment and confirming casualties. 

Levi tilted his head towards the sky, bringing a dirt smeared hand up to block out the sun, gripping the handle of his bladeless sword tighter as he heard more names called out and fewer answers returned. 

He listened as another team of horses came upon them, hooves pounding on the hard packed earth and men shouting as they got closer to one another. Levi turned towards the noise, wanting nothing more than to tell them all to shut their fucking mouths – they were still in danger this far from the protection of the walls. 

He watched as the commander dismounted and walked through the remains of the carnage. They had all been split up almost immediately after leaving the gate, two sets of ten meter titans seeming to have been waiting for them. The wagons had been the first to get hit, followed by a number of new recruits who obviously hadn’t taken their training and the compatriot’s warnings about what lay beyond the walls seriously. They’d had to split the company, hoping to make it to the meager tree line before the titans could catch them. 

Levi had led his team to the South, while the commander had turned the rest to the North; both having contingency plans in case such an event happened. They had barely made it to shelter before the two ten-meters had caught up with them. The trees were hardly thick enough to hide them, let alone use the maneuver gear with them, but Levi and his team had managed. 

He scowled as the tall blond man stopped next to him, partially blocking out the sun, but forcing him to tilt his head back once again. The commander’s face was blank, as per usually, but Levi could make out the crows feet that were beginning to form at the corners of shadowed blue eyes. Erwin Smith could wear that face all he wanted, Levi knew how much each failure weighed on the man.

“That was too fucking close, Smith.” He grumbled, turning to look back over the scurrying soldiers and the few smoldering pieces of titan that remained. He withheld his flinch as a large hand came down to clasp his shoulder – the grip a bit too tight to remain impersonal. It was a wordless gesture, showing his worry and frustration in one, silent movement.

“We’ll be returning to the walls as soon as everyone has a mount.” The words were delivered in that same calm baritone that had explained the day’s mission earlier that morning. There was no tremble, no hesitation. This was the voice of a man that may have misplaced his reading glasses; not a man who had just seen over a dozen of his men ripped apart by towering monstrosities. 

Levi grunted in acknowledgement and Erwin let go to return to his own horse. Levi surveyed the area once more before moving off to help oversee the injured and hurry his team back into formation.

-

The return to the Survey Corps headquarters was far more uneventful than the disastrous beginning of the expedition. 

Levi left the stables feeling the layers of grime on his skin and clothes. He had had to carry one of the injured soldiers on his horse and the blood had soaked through his cloak. So much blood. Too much blood. He had no idea if the young woman would pull through the night. 

He also had the dirt, moss and bark from flying through the trees as well as the residual stench of the evaporated titan juices. The smell was nauseating on the best of days, but it was summer and the heat only made things worse. He was barely in his room before he was throwing the soiled cloak and jacket from his shoulders.

Nimble fingers made quick work of his cravat and the buttons on his previously pristine white shirt. He sat on the room’s lone wooden chair to remove his boots and unfasten the straps that crisscrossed down his calves. He stood to unbutton his pants and let the whole tangle of cloth and leather clatter to the floor. 

He bundled the garments together, using the cloak as a makeshift hamper, tying the ends closed with tight knots. He would see what they could salvage later. For now, he needed to get the cloying smell of the forest and death off.

Levi sometimes wondered what strings had been pulled in order for him to have a private bath in his room, but most of the time he basked in it with silent acceptance. Though he was not one to waste time simply reveling in the solace that small washroom provided, he acknowledged and appreciated it all the same. Especially when he could hear the tell tale sounds of his bedroom door creaking open then shut and the muffled thud of clothes and boots being dropped along the path to the washroom.

What he didn’t appreciate, however, was the large body that crowded his space in the small room and, subsequently, smaller tub. There was only one way the two of them would fit in the thing and Levi knew Erwin was laughing about it silently as he slid his much larger frame behind; forcing the corporal to sit in his lap and lean back against his chest. 

The slighter man twisted before Erwin could pull him back to his chest, managing, somehow, to straddle the commander’s thickly muscled thighs and rest his wet hands on dry pectorals. Erwin looked at his quizzically – a faint arch in one eyebrow and a miniscule tilt of his chin.

“What the fuck happened today?” He questioned, running fingers and eyes across the broad chest and shoulders, taking in all the bruises and scars; checking for new injuries or aggravations of old ones. Erwin’s expression became placid and Levi dug his nails into his bicep, earning a furrow and a downturn of lips.

“What. The fuck. Happened?” Levi repeated himself, emphasizing his impatience for a proper answer by dragging his left hand down and leaving a trail of red skin behind. “Four ten-meters that close to the gate and those dumbfucks still opened it?” His eyebrows pulled together in a glare, daring Erwin to try and evade him.

The blond quirked a smile, “Dumb as you feel they may be, they were following orders. They were told to open the gates at that time, and they did.” Levi could see something lingering under Erwin’s words, something the other man wasn’t saying to him.

“Bullshit,” Levi practically spat, reaching over the side of the tub to grab the soap and cloth he had placed there that morning – a ritual only one person knew he practiced before every mission. “There have been other missions where they kept those goddamn gates closed ‘cause there were titans nearby. Shit, it happened a few weeks ago and it was just a fucking five-meter.” He lathered the cloth while he spoke then ran the suds over the path his hands had just traveled, taking special care to gently rub the new scratch marks.

“Yes, but today was not the same as two weeks ago.” Erwin spoke softly and calmly, as if to a nervous beast whose claws were inches from his throat. Levi hated that voice. Hated how it made him feel like a child who just wasn’t getting it. Hated how intense Erwin’s face and eyes got when he spoke with that tone, like he knew you knew what he was talking about and was disappointed when it turned out that you didn’t.

Lightning struck Levi and he nearly dropped the washcloth with the sudden realization. “You.” He might have whispered it, he might have yelled it; he wasn’t sure. He could barely hear over the roar of his blood suddenly pounding in his ears. He knew his expression probably hadn’t changed – he hoped – when he saw Erwin nod and relax further back into the tub.

“Me.” The nearly nonchalant confirmation did nothing to slow the beating of his heart or the rushing in his ears. He resumed running the cloth over Erwin’s chest and neck, though the movements were completely mechanical. The gates had been opened, even with the titans so close, because Erwin had been in the scouting party. The only people who would have known about his participation and had the authority to order the gates opened regardless of the danger would have been someone in the top brass. If they had known all that and still allowed the expedition then they were planning on the titans killing—

Levi’s train of thought was interrupted by a firm hand gripping him under the chin. His instinctive reaction was to lash out, but a strong arm wrapped itself around his shoulders and pulled him in close. He could hear Erwin’s slow, methodic breathing and the unhurried, rhythmic beating of his heart. He almost snorted at the contradiction between this docile creature and the monster he knew lurked beneath the surface.

“Your ire, notwithstanding, their attempt was benign, at best. After all,” Levi felt the hold on him loosen and he pulled back to stare Erwin in the eye. One large hand came up to push his bangs back and curl behind his ear to cradle his jaw in a tender gesture one would not have expected from the Survey Corps’ ruthless commander. “I have humanity’s strongest by my side. How could they hope to compete with that?” 

Erwin’s serene smile was met with the still sudsy washcloth while Levi hid his embarrassment behind a slew of curse words and insults.

**Author's Note:**

> This was the only one-shot I managed for the Eruri Week in December. I know, I'm a sad, sad little person. lol It's not that long, and not all that great, but shit happens.
> 
> This was also my first attempt to write for this fandom and this couple. I hope I didn't deviate too far from their actual personalities. ^^


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